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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23205259">What Happens In Mementos Stays In Mementos!</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sohlah/pseuds/Sohlah'>Sohlah</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 4, Persona 5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Crack Fic, Gen, Sorry!, just something silly to brighten the mood, test fic after a 2 year grace period, this was not beta'd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 08:34:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,750</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23205259</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sohlah/pseuds/Sohlah</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Investigation Team goes on a road trip to Tokyo to visit their old leader on summer break a year after the Inaba murder spree. </p><p>What happens when a suspicious black and white cat leads them into a strange, unpopulated subway station?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>One sided Kanji Tatsumi/Naoto Shirogane, One sided Rise Kujikawa/Yu Narukami</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>50</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>What Happens In Mementos Stays In Mementos!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tokyo was a sight to behold-- towering buildings that loomed over the city paired with the amount of tourists lining the streets was quite dizzying to Yukiko. She hadn’t exactly had any time to leave Inaba whilst in the middle of adolescence, but now that she was a third year on summer vacation, she had had a bit of time to save up to go on a road trip with her other friends to Tokyo to visit Yu. It had been a year or so since they had last seen him, however, none of their friendship was frail.</p><p>Kanji marveled at a boutique on the street, seemingly advertising recent street fashion and articles of clothing sporting meticulous embroidery. He ran his hand along the glass, then removed it quickly, as if stung by a hornet. He looked side to side quickly, and shoved his hands into his pockets. </p><p>Rise was typing away on her phone, seemingly in contact with Yu. He was to meet the group in just a few more minutes; she had likely been texting the details of their current coordinates in painstaking detail so that he could pinpoint their location accurately. Tokyo was incredibly large, after all, so one could never be too sure. Rise texted a silly emoji, just to properly convey how ecstatic she was to see her senpai, and smashed the send button. She squealed in excitement, jumping up and down. Oh, she just couldn’t wait! Her heart always did major flips whenever he would be near her. It wouldn’t be long now!</p><p>Chie marched back to the group huddled around, three steak skewers in hand. She plopped a bite into her mouth, chewing in delight. Before swallowing, she spoke up enthusiastically. “Do yrou guyms think he’sh gonna get hrr soon?” She mumbles out around her mouthful, swallowing. She coughs, smacks her chest with her fist a few times, and finally gets it all down. When she looks back to the group, Naoto is glaring at her.</p><p>“Have you any knowledge of basic etiquette?” Naoto sighed, shaking her head. “Putting that aside, he is likely held up. During this time of year it’s quite common for Tokyo to be congested.” She puts her left hand on her hip, gazing off into the bustling streets of the city. She had done her fair share of traveling, but she had never spent enough time to sight see. She had been more interested in closing her cases she had been assigned than taking time to look around the places she had traveled for her career. Taking time to look around and have a gathering with friends had proved to be quite beneficial so far, however, so perhaps it would not hurt to branch out every once in a while. </p><p>Chie shrugs, shoving another mouthful of meat into her mouth. Yukiko continues to admire the scenery of the big city, whilst Kanji glances back to the clothing store with very terribly masked longing. As Naoto starts to check her watch to see how long it had been and judge if they would have to send another message, Rise shoots past her and squeals loudly, drawing attention from nearby pedestrians as she crushed Yu in a relentlessly strong embrace.</p><p>“Senpaiiiii!~” She giggled, and started to hang onto his arm, rather than continue to crush him. Yu smiled, Yosuke and Teddie behind him. Yosuke spoke up, grinning good naturedly. “I found him on my way to the nearby music store. Ted almost suffocated him!”</p><p>Teddie flails energetically. “Yeah! I greeted him with the bear-hug he deserved!” </p><p>“I believe coming in the bear costume wasn’t a very wise decision…” Naoto mumbled as everybody greeted Yu in turn. </p><p>Yu smiles warmly. It had been a year since he had seen them, and almost nothing had changed. They were still quite the tightly knit group, and still had the same energetic aura about them. He had missed them dearly. “Hey, guys. There’s so much to show you… I understand that you all can only be here for two days, but I have a jam packed schedule with all of our interests. I wouldn’t leave anybody out.” He pulls out a folded piece of paper and starts to look over the list once more.</p><p>Whilst the bustling group started to chatter about what kind of events that Yu had planned, Kanji’s attention had focused on something small nearby. Specifically, a small black and white cat with a yellow collar making its way towards the subway station. It was so…. So…… fluffy. He couldn’t resist following the little guy! If he had a collar, maybe he was lost, or his owner was looking for him. He couldn’t stand the thought of the cute little thing going hungry on the streets with nobody to give him a warm bed to sleep in; something just had to be done! He started to trail away from the group, following the cat. </p><p>The cat looked back, ears raising and whiskers becoming alert. After making eye contact with Kanji for a brief moment, the small cat bolted.</p><p>And, as Kanji wasn’t known for having the highest intelligence on the team, he bolted after it. “H-hey! I ain’t gonna hurt ya or anything!” </p><p>Yu and the others followed behind Kanji, trying to catch up with him. Yu did want to see the cat, and help it find its home, but… Kanji was approaching the cat the wrong way entirely. He was just scaring it more. “Hey, Kanji! Slow down.” </p><p>Kanji heard his senpai yell, and started to slow-- but not before puzzling his surroundings. It seemed that everybody on the street had disappeared or cleared the area. The city was dark, and the streetlights were unlit. He looks back to the cat, who seemed to bolt into the subway station, and resumed his chase whilst shouting a response to his senpai. “J-just a sec! There ain’t food in there.”</p><p>When he entered the station, the cat was nowhere to be found. It was as if he had disappeared, or had never existed at all. Kanji groans in frustration, his friends catching up to him.</p><p>“Kanji-kun, running off recklessly in that manner will only cause unwanted attention.” Naoto was quick to point out, crossing her arms with a scowl on her face. </p><p>“Running after cats will only scare them. You have to approach them with caution, and let them assess the danger by offering your hand for them to sniff.” Yu says, walking over to his side. He puts his hand on his shoulder. “We might see him again, so this time, let’s approach slowly. He will know we have good intentions.” </p><p>Kanji nods to him, his frown fading a bit. It was no secret that his senpai was good with animals; especially cats. He was known to feed the cats by the Samegawa Flood Plain while he lived in Inaba. Kanji took up the role after his departure, too soft to let the cats go hungry. </p><p>“Well…. Since we’re here, why don’t we look around? Isn’t there a nice underground mall in Shibuya?” Rise piped up, ever the optimist. “We may even see the cat on the way!” She smiles like sunshine, grabbing onto Yu’s arm and pulling him forward.</p><p>They all follow, heading deeper into the strangely vacated subway station. After they find their way down a few floors, Rise’s brows crinkle up. “I’m not seeing anybody else… is this place off limits or something?” </p><p>Yu had his poker face as usual, and shrugged. “I’m not sure, actually. I’m not often in Shibuya. I live around Harajuku.”</p><p>Yukiko speaks up, a worried lilt lacing her tone. “Umm… Is it me or…. Are we lost..? I don’t see a map anywhere, and I don’t see the stairs. Are we supposed to be walking on the tracks? And… what if a train comes?”</p><p>Chie smacks Yukiko lightly. “H-hey, don’t say stuff like that!” She looks around nervously. “But… she’s right. Maybe we should look for a map.”</p><p>Yosuke nods. “Yeah, that’s probably the best idea. Partner, what do you say?” He looks to Yu, who takes a look at the team once more, before seemingly making a decision.</p><p>“Alright, let’s split into two groups. Kanji, Teddie, and myself will search for a map or some sort of direction to go in order to leave this place. Yukiko, Rise, Yosuke, Naoto, and Chie, you can all stay here and look for nearby people.” He nods, punctuating his order.</p><p>“Aight, senpai, you can count on me!” Kanji grins, and starts to lead the way. Teddie follows with uncharacteristic skepticality, but nods. “Y-yeah! We’ll o-bear-come this place easy!”</p><p>“With ease.” Naoto mutters under her breath.</p><p>“Alright, partner, we’ll meet back in an hour, then.” Yosuke starts to lead the way, squinting through the dark layout of the area.</p><p>“Hey, who said you were the party leader? We all know you’re directionally challenged.” Chie taunted, running up to pace beside him.</p><p>“What the hell? I’m great with directions, I’ll have you know.” Yosuke insisted, speeding up.</p><p>“Oh yeah? Since when?” Chie challenged, raising a brow incredulously.</p><p>“Since-- argh, why do I have to prove it to you? As if you’re any better!” Yosuke snapped back, shooting a death glare at Chie.</p><p>“Hey-- why don’t I lead the way? I navigated the way in the TV world after all, right?” Rise proposed, running between them. “I think I can figure it out, just give me some time.” </p><p>Yosuke nods, still visibly irritated. Yukiko sighs, thankful that the fighting was stopped in its youth.</p><p>As Rise starts to mark a map on a notebook of where they had already been, the sound of a vicious snarl snaps the group from their activities.</p><p>Naoto squints, and makes out the distinct shape of-- of--- “Is… is that a shadow?” She quickly pulls out her gun from its holster; as a detective, she had a license to carry a weapon. It was an ill idea to be without it, so she had made it a habit to carry her weapon on her. </p><p>“Y- Yeesh!” Rise squeaks, running behind the group. “Umm-- If there’s a shadow, do you think we can summon personas here?? What is this place?”</p><p>“Uhh, l-let’s find out!” Yosuke grits out. “P-Persona!” He crushes the magician card, and thankfully Susan-o comes out. “Looks like persona’s aren’t out of the question.”</p><p>Rise immediately nods and summons Himiko. “Umm…” She scans the shadow, and finds it’s weakness-- it seemed to be a very low level. “Ah-- it won’t take much fighting power! I think it’s weak to ice.”</p><p>Chie nods quickly, summoning her own persona. “Tomoe!” She yells, using a quick bufudyne on the shadow. It gets taken out in one hit, thankfully.”</p><p>Yukiko’s eyes are wide, and she furrows her brows. “Well… we were lucky that that one was weak. But what if there are stronger ones down here?”</p><p>Chie shakes her head. “H-hey, we’ll find a way out! If there was a way in, there’s gotta be a way out.”<br/>
Naoto folds her arms. “We should probably take precautions in the case that we get trapped here for an undisclosed amount of time. Perhaps a food source, in case we must spend the night. We must always prepare for the worst case scenario, if we want to have an optimal chance of leaving this place.”</p><p>Chie gasps. “Actually, now that you mention it, I’m starving! There’s gotta be some kind of food down here. I need meat!”</p><p>“Didn’t you just have three meat skewers?” Yosuke asks, scowling.</p><p>Chie ignores him, and starts frantically searching the area. After a few minutes of the others adopting her idea, they meet back in the center. </p><p>“Ughhh….. Yukiko, this stinks! There’s nobody down here, and there’s no telling when Yu and the others are coming back.” She slumps, sitting down on her knees. </p><p>Yukiko takes a seat by her, followed by Rise. “Well… I heard that pork is the meat that tastes the most similar to human flesh.”</p><p>Rise’s eyes widen. “How do you know that, senpai?”</p><p>Yosuke’s brows furrow. “U-uh… you don’t speak from experience, right..?”</p><p>Yukiko shoots him a glare. “No! It’s just something I overheard at school.”</p><p>Chie’s eyes are wide, and she stares into the distance for a few moments. “Do you think that’s really true..? I mean…. What if…. What if we end up here for weeks… or even… months? We are gonna have to eat something!” She sits in silence when nobody answers… however, seems to brighten a bit. “Well… if that does happen, and if what Yukiko says is true….One of us will have to take one for the team.”</p><p>Rise’s eyes widen. “D-Do you really think we’ll be here that long?” She hugs herself nervously. </p><p>“Well… in a worst case scenario…” Yukiko looks to Chie with a worried expression.</p><p>“If it truly does come to that unfortunate span of circumstances…. I would have to suggest that we ask Kanji-kun to be the one to sacrifice himself.” Naoto says, nodding at her input. “It would make the most sense; He has the highest and most likely nutritional value of the team, and he also has the most to offer us in a sense of our food source lasting the longest amount of time.”</p><p> </p><p>“W-well… I mean…. But!” Rise speaks up, but seemingly gives in, unable to finish her argument.</p><p>“And in the event that Kanji, Yu, and Teddie don’t find their way back…” Yukiko trails off, looking to Yosuke. Chie’s eyes widen when she catches her drift, and she nods. “Y-yeah, I guess there’s no helping it. I mean… Yosuke is the largest of all of us here.”</p><p>Rise nods reluctantly. “Umm…. I guess it can’t be helped, then.”</p><p>Yosuke’s eyes widen, and he takes a step back. “W-what the hell? When did we decide we were going to sacrifice me?!” </p><p>“I apologize, senpai, but it makes the most sense.” Naoto nods.</p><p>“Persona!” Yukiko yells, and casts agidyne. “I have the fire ready.”</p><p>“Wait-- we’re doing this NOW?!?!” Chie gasps, eyes widening.</p><p>“Uhh, I never agreed to this!” Yosuke yells, starting to run.</p><p>“Oh, no you don’t!” Chie sprints, flinging herself on top of Yosuke. He struggles as she starts to pull his hands behind his back. “Urgh, anyone have a rope or something?”</p><p>Naoto quickly walks over, pulling out some handcuffs. “I have these. It should work just as well, if not better.” </p><p>“H-HEY!” Yosuke yells, struggling harder. “AUGH, get me OUT of these! What the hell has gotten into you guys?!?”</p><p>“Hey, survival of the fittest! They taught us that in school! Sorry, Yosuke, but you were voted out.” Chie gets off, and throws Yosuke over her shoulder. He continues to wiggle radically, trying as hard as he can to escape. “Hey Yukiko, stoke the fires!!! Rise, find some branches so we can hang him over the fire.”</p><p>Rise nods, whilst her face screams reluctance. However, she acquiesces and starts to search the floor. Naoto follows Rise, gun at the ready for any shadows who would decide to show themselves and pick a fight.</p><p>It’s only ten minutes until Rise dumps a few branches and sticks by Yukiko, Naoto behind her, keeping watch for shadows.</p><p>Yukiko starts to assemble the branches, and Chie hauls Yosuke on once they are ready and sturdily secured. </p><p>“W-wait-- you guys are serious, aren’t you?!” Yosuke starts to struggle once more, energy seemingly renewed.<br/>
“I mean, someone’s gotta do it. We gotta have something to keep us going!” Chie says, leaning to the side.</p><p>“Unfortunately, you are the most beneficial candidate in keeping us alive for the longest amount of time.” Naoto says.</p><p>Yukiko releases another agidyne to the fire, and Yosuke screams in a womanly fashion. “H-HEY! W-why aren’t we sacrificing Chie? She’s the most fit!” He yells, lifting his head away from the flames desperately.</p><p>“Hey, just for that we should gag him!” Chie growls, and shoves a sock in his mouth. Yosuke spits it out, making gagging noises. “D-dude, what the hell?! Please don’t tell me you were wearing that!” He spits, nose wrinkling in disgust.</p><p>“Where’s it matter where I got it from? It won’t matter when we start to dine!” She says, placing her hands on her hips indignantly. </p><p>“Eurgh, when my partner gets back, he is going to be pissed! Look, we aren’t even going to starve anytime soon! Why are we jumping to conclusions already?!? Get me off of this thing!” He growls, thrashing about.</p><p>Yukiko pulls out a fan, and starts to fan the flames. “You know, it will probably good for team morale too. It will cut down the fighting if you think about it.”</p><p>“You scare me sometimes, senpai..” Rise chimes in quietly, and sighs. “But she has a point. I should probably look for spices.” She sighs, and starts to search nearby.</p><p>“W-WHAT THE HELL D’ YOU GUYS THINK YER DOIN’???” Kanji yells, rushing over. “Man, what-- what’s even goin’ ON?!” He starts trying to pull the cuffs off.</p><p>“Ah, Kanji-kun. Good timing. Would you rather take his place? You would be more ideal for this than Yosuke-senpai.” Naoto says in greeting.</p><p>“W...w-wait, what?!?” Kanji stares in confusion, and assesses the situation once more. “S-shit, why are you all burnin’ senpai?!” He looks at Yosuke, who pipes up loudly.</p><p>“Dude, get me out of here! They’ve gone berserk!” He screams, struggling harder. It was enough for Kanji to yank him off of the branch hoisting him over the fire and start pulling at his handcuffs.</p><p>“Hey-- uh, are ya hurt or somethin’?” He says, giving up on trying to break the cuffs. They were hard metal, almost impossible to remove without a key or something to pick it with.</p><p>“N-no… I mean, not yet!” Yosuke grinds out, attempting to yank his hands apart.<br/>
“Hey, if you’re gonna save him, you should at least take his place, Kanji!” Chie frowns, tapping her foot. </p><p>“Didn’t Naoto say he was the best option?” Yukiko speaks up.</p><p>“Naoto… b-b-best option?” Blood quickly rushes to Kanji’s face. She said… he was the best..? </p><p>“Snap out of it dude! They are going to roast you like they did me!” Yosuke growls.</p><p>“W….w-wait, roast?!” Kanji steps back.</p><p>“What’s this about roasting?” Yu steps over to the group, eyes widening at the sight before him. “...Would somebody care to elaborate?”</p><p>Chie keeps quiet, and Yukiko avoids eye contact. Rise laughs awkwardly, but Naoto nods cooperatively. “I can explain. We have found that shadows roam this floor, and that the map is inconsistent. We decided to prepare for the worst case scenario, should we be unfortunate enough to stumble upon it, and decided that as there is no source of nourishment in this area, that we would have to sacrifice an ally in order to keep the team going. Since Kanji-kun wasn’t present at the time, we had decided that out of those who were here that Yosuke-senpai would be the most beneficial candidate to consume. It was the most logical decision.” She says, seemingly unfazed by this turn of events.</p><p>Yu looked to the ceiling, silently praying for the goddess Izanami to give him some god damn patience. He finally took a deep breath, and released it. He stares the girls down with an icy gaze. “Chie, you were eating when I met you. There was no reason to decide that you were suddenly starving just for the sole purpose of riling up Yosuke. Yukiko, you should know not to go along with Chie’s ridiculous spur of the moment ideas. Rise, why would you support them in this? Naoto, aren’t you supposed to know at least the basics of common sense?” He glared at them hard for a few moments.</p><p>“As a team, we should not be tearing each other down and-- and….” He takes a deep breath. “We should be supporting each other and sticking together to find a way out. Not sacrificing each other to Chie’s ravenous appetite. I’m surprised I even had to lecture you all on this.” He shakes his head, incredibly disappointed in the group.</p><p>Rise looks as if she is about to cry, and stares at the floor. “S-sorry, senpai. I… Um, sorry.” She fidgets with her fingers.</p><p>Yukiko looks up nervously, then away once more. “I’m sorry as well.”</p><p>Chie looks to Yosuke, eyebrows furrowing. “I… I guess we did go kinda too far. Uhh… Sorry, Yosuke.”<br/>
Naoto frowns slightly. “It was the most logical deduction to make in the sense that we wouldn’t escape. We would be doing what we can to survive in a place without proper nourishment.”</p><p>“L-look, Naoto, ya can’t just…. Y-ya can’t just… eat people. I ain’t no law follower or nothin’, but… ain’t cannibalism against the law?” Kanji mutters, scratching his neck awkwardly and avoiding eye contact.</p><p>“As we can summon personas in this place, it must mean that it isn’t often and possibly has never been traversed by law governing people. Therefore, the laws wouldn’t technically apply in this realm of dwelling. When it comes to survival, logic is key.” She replies with absolute confidence that she is correct.</p><p>“Let’s…. Look, friends don’t eat friends. They team up to find a way to escape. Even as a last resort, we should never, under any circumstances, sacrifice a teammate. Period.” Yu says, rubbing his forehead. Perhaps Kanji could introduce Naoto to the little pony show that taught lessons about friendship. He’d have to encourage him to do so at a later time.</p><p>“Look, let’s just… forget this happened, okay?” Yu turns around, and starts to walk forwards. “Follow me, Teddie found a way out of here. It took a little bit of searching since the layout of the area seems to change every time you leave, but we can get out with a little bit of persistence.”</p><p>The rest of the team followed, Rise, Yukiko, and Chie trailing behind in awkward silence. Naoto took up the rear of the group, reloading her gun without shame of the previous lecture.</p><p>Kanji stood beside Yosuke and Yu, who were whispering to each other quietly. He couldn’t hear them too well although he was just a few steps away. </p><p>Kanji let his mind wander as they navigated the ever-changing labyrinth. It was such a shame that they hadn’t found the cat. He hoped that the little guy was safe and had escaped. Maybe the cat hadn’t wandered into this TV world-like place.</p>
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